Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

No Bones About It

Pretty soon, it is going to difficult for even the most vocal
Jon
Jones critic to deny the UFC light heavyweight champion’s
greatness.

Jones cruised to his seventh successful 205-pound title defense at
UFC
172, taking a dominant five-round verdict over Glover
Teixeira in Baltimore on April 26. As usual, “Bones” landed a
variety of kicks, punches and elbows in victory. While many
expected the champ to use his reach to keep Teixeira at a safe
distance, Jones was at his most effective in the clinch, where he
battered and bloodied the Brazilian with brutal standing elbows.
With Teixeira’s 20-fight tear a distant memory, a return date with
Alexander
Gustafsson looms next for Jones.

Meanwhile, former welterweight Anthony
Johnson announced his presence in the light heavyweight
division by bullying Phil Davis
for three rounds in the UFC 172 co-headliner. Without a grueling
weight cut to endure, “Rumble” now has a deeper gas tank to go with
his ever-present knockout power.

Elsewhere, Fabricio
Werdum cemented his status as the heavyweight division’s No. 1
contender with a unanimous decision triumph against Travis
Browne in the UFC on Fox 11 headliner. Meanwhile, Tim Kennedy
moved into the middleweight top 10 by grinding down Michael
Bisping in “The Ultimate Fighter Nations” Finale headliner,
while Dan
Henderson showed off his powerful right hand once again with a
third-round knockout of Mauricio Rua
in Brazil.